Page 141 of Mortal Shift
“Your word, Thessalia,” Cole said. It was a long five seconds before her eyelids slid shut a fraction, and she inclined her chin.
“You have it.”
I nodded curtly, trying to erase the fear, and, gods help me, anticipation from my face and my voice.
“Then let’s go.”
Thessalia turned her back while I got changed—Cole didn’t, and that almost led to a whole new delay—and then we slipped out of our dorm.
They led me to the infirmary, Cole hovering protectively behind me the whole way, barely even acknowledging the greetings from other shifters we passed on route, who clapped him on the shoulder or congratulated him on his release. His eyes never left me once, not even when we stepped inside the small curtained cubicle Thaden had resided in last time we were in this wing.
“Are you sure?” he murmured into my ear, and I shook my head.
“No. But there’s no other choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
“No, there isn’t,” Thessalia ground out, and made to grab my wrist. Cole moved faster than my eyes could track, batting her arm aside with a low growl.
“This isn’t the time to be getting protective of your mate,” Thessalia snapped.
“Wrong,” he ground out. “It isalwaysthe time to be protective of my mate.”
“It’s fine,” I whispered hoarsely, reaching out and giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m ready.”
I rolled up my sleeve and Thessalia took my arm, eyeing Cole cautiously as she slashed her fangs across my wrist. I bit down on my lip to trap my hiss of pain, because I didn’t think it’d take much for the simmering tensions to erupt, and as far as I was concerned, the sooner I got this done and over with, the better.
I moved my wrist above Thaden’s unnaturally pale face, and then lowered it to his mouth, a few drops of my blood splashing onto his lips. They peeled back and his fangs fastened onto my wrist, and this time I couldn’t bite back my gasp of pain. Cole wrapped his arm around my shoulders, supporting me as the vampire fed, still unconscious as he did.
It was nice, I decided, having someone to lean against. Helped with the dizziness. His scent swirled in my nostrils and I wasn’t quite sure if it was the mate bond making me dizzy, or the feeding, or something else entirely. And I was pretty sure it was all three making me want to strip Cole’s clothes off right here and have my way with him in the middle of the ward, audience be damned.
Audience be damned. Ha. That was funny. Because of half of them being vampires.
“That’s enough,” Cole said tersely, and for a moment I thought he meant enough giggling, or enough running my hand over his chest—both of which I disagreed with vehemently—but then I realized he meant enough blood. I frowned. I’d forgotten I was being fed on. I didn’t care about that, not really, not while Cole was here and he smelled so delicious, andwhywas his shirt so hard to remove?
“Easy, Cali,” he murmured, catching both of my hands in his—when had Thaden stopped feeding?—and leaning me against his chest. I laid my head on it, listening to his heartbeat. Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum.
“It beats only for you,” Cole whispered in my ear, and I tilted my head up to catch his lips in mine…and then the floor tilted. Rude.
I frowned at it in annoyance, but then my legs were gone from under me, and I was cradled in Cole’s arms. Much better. I sighed in contentment and leaned my head against his chest again.
“You’re pretty,” I told him.
“And you’re drunk,” he replied with a chuckle.
“I’m not drunk,” I said. “I’vebeendrunk.”
I laughed, and Cole snorted in amusement.
“I like your nose,” I told him, squinting up at his face. “And your lips. They’re squishy. And your eyebrows are fuzzy.”
“He’s waking up,” a voice said from behind me. Thessalia. I twisted round to her in annoyance. I wanted to be alone with my mate.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Cole said, his voice serious.
“Yes,” Thessalia replied. “It’s her blood.”
Cole nodded. “He was never attacked. He was in withdrawal. He’s addicted to Cali’s blood.”
